Foxfire
by Distopia
Summary: It wasn't supposed to end up like this- but human teenagers *always* created a world of trouble. She should have known better, the fox grumbled to herself.
1. Prolouge

I'm putting this up here in the hope that it will (somehow) encourage me to write more. I've been experimenting with different ways of writing, and this is the result of one of these. For the most part, I'll be uploading 100 word drabbles focusing around prompts, with longer chapter inserts where I feel it contributes to the story. I have heaps of this done already, so I'll be uploading a few every week until I run out of buffer. I'm focusing mostly on my OC, because I'm still working on keeping the canon characters in character.

These drabbles tell the story of Kaylee, a Western fox-youkai. Her charge, Amber, is a human with high spiritual energy and youngest (still living) heir to a minor seat on the Australian Council.

A little back story first though, because it won't come up till waaay later; the Western lands (essentially Europe etc) have much stronger barriers between the realms, though they're weaker along fault lines. Most of the time youkai can only pass back and forth between realms on major holidays (all hallows eves, the solstices etc.) Each 'area' is governed by its own particular deities (greek gods and systems for Greece/Italy etc) and governed by 'Councils' made up of supernatural and human members.

Since a lot of youkai got locked into the human realm when the barriers went up, there has since been a _lot_ of interbreeding, and forced co-operation. Kaylee and Amber get stuck in the middle of this constant conflict of interest between the two parties. Rules and regulations regarding youkai presence in the human world are very strict, and hanyou's usually fall under the rules governing their mother.

The story starts with Kaylee and Amber travelling to Japan.


	2. Months

#1 Months

* * *

"This is _so cool_!"

Amber cheered, jigging impatiently on the spot. Winding an arm about her waist, Kaylee yanked the excited young woman flush to her, snarling menacingly at a few oni who had been looking a little too interested.

"I mean, it took _months_ to get ready and sneak in- but we're _really here_. At the Dark Tournament!"

Expression put upon, the kitsune yanked her human ward closer towards the stands, tails swishing with her barely suppressed agitation. Amber continued to babble with excitement, fingers trembling as they scribbled down her notes.

Kaylee just sighed, exasperated.

* * *

Words; 97


	3. Minutes

# 2 Minutes

* * *

"Who do you think will win?"

Eyeing off the booing, hissing crowd around them, Kaylee shifted restlessly, knives flashing between her fingers in a telling gesture of her nerves. Slanting her Guardian a narrow eyed glare, Amber poked her again, tone becoming imperious. Kaylee had been ignoring her for _at least_ a minute and she was _sick_ of it.

"I _**said**_, who-"

"The tantei. And be quiet, will you, it's hard enough to keep the wards up as it is,"

She hissed, and wondered how long her strength would last for.

* * *

Words; 75


	4. Seconds

#3 Seconds

* * *

Arms full of popcorn and drinks, Kaylee carefully picked her way back up to where she'd left Amber, who'd been raptly focused on the fight below. A prickle of unease skittered up her spine, giving her a split second warning, and then the arena erupted with screams as the Jaganshi unleashed his ultimate attack.

Throwing the junk food aside, Kaylee set off at a dead run, heart in her throat as the monstrous hellfire-dragon rampaged through the stands. She peeled out into the open air and froze, chest heavy with foreboding.

_No_.

* * *

Words; 92


	5. Past

# 5 Past

* * *

Surging into action, the fox lashed out the nearest demon who had dared to try and shove her away. Feeling the familiar give of flesh under her claws, she shoved the body away and flipped herself into the air. Soaring up above the crowd of panicked demons, she bounded off of the concrete supports for the stands. Flicking blood from her claws she set off at a dead run, immune to the sickening odour of charred flesh- there where only so many times one could smell it, after all, before the body became desensitized to the stench.

* * *

Words; 97


	6. Present

# 6 Present

* * *

Gaze frantic, Kaylee searched the stands where she'd left Amber, a tiny ember of hope steadily burning a hole through her chest. There was _nothing_, not even a whisper, and a quiet moan spilt from her lips. No, _no,_ not like _this_—but what was that?! Ears pricked, Kaylee picked delicately over the rubble. The muted whisper of a familiar ki teased at her senses as the fox stretched them to the utmost limit, and –_there_.

Her lips curved in a grim smile, Kaylee started towards where the spirit of her ward was restlessly flitting about.

* * *

Words; 95


	7. Days

# 7 Days

* * *

She had to work fast; after the stress of the demonic attack, the confusion of dying and the presence of so many youkai, there was little chance the spirit would last beyond the day. Flexing her fingers, Kaylee wove a delicate net of her _youki_, carefully tracking the distressed spirit through the ruins of the stands. Eyes narrowed, she wove signs of protection and sealing. She didn't have long before a Reikai agent showed up, and there had to be _somewhere_ safe she could stash the injured soul…

* * *

Words; 88


	8. Years

# 8 Years

* * *

Kaylee felt exhaustion nip at her heels as she coaxed the spirit closer to her body. The stress of trying to protect her charge and then sealing her spirit had drained the youkai's energy to a dangerous level. Blowing at strands of sweat sticky hair, she reflected ruefully that at least this stupid, suicidal move would buy her some time. If her plan worked, then Amber could have _years_ away from her poisonous relatives, and still be able to inherit.

But first, she needed to reel the stubborn spirit in before she dissolved or a ferry girl showed up.

* * *

Words; 99


	9. Weeks

#9 Weeks

* * *

Collapsing into the shade, Kaylee wracked her tired brain for somewhere she could hide. Amber's soul was bound firmly to the tiny cell currently charting a course through her womb. It was sheer blind luck that her fertile time had come now, when she most needed it (and when it would prove most troublesome.)

Hauling herself to her feet, the fox wearily set off for the distant hotel at steady trot. She hadn't bought herself much time; a week at the very most. But she intended to make good use of what little chance she had.

* * *

Words;96


	10. Dusk

#10 Dusk

* * *

Creeping along to the back entrance, Kaylee cannily used the long shadows of dusk to hide in, flattening herself into recessed doors and darting behind skip bins. Working slowly but cautiously, she inched closer to the hotel. It was a calculated risk; the Reikai Tantei where in residence, and any one of them would prove a dangerous adversary to her now.

But one of them, she thought with a cold smile, one in particular could very well be her salvation.

* * *

Words; 79


	11. Future

#11 Future

* * *

Enjoying the silky caress of the water against her grimy skin, the fox sunk deeper into the bath with a contended sigh. Later, she could plan for a way to entice the human Tantei down into her reach. Later, she would decide how she was going to hide from agents of the Reikai _and_ the Western Council with a growing child sapping at her _youki_. But for now… Alert ears caught the sound of a far off splash and the very masculine grunt of pleasure that followed.

Expression predatory, Kaylee shelved her plans for the nebulous weeks ahead. Right now she had a chance to make that future _real_, and she wasn't going to let it slip away.

* * *

Words; 118


	12. Dawn

#12 Dawn

* * *

Pale gold fingers streaked across the early morning sky, and Kaylee shivered, curling up in her nest of stolen blankets. The fox watched the dawn with a pensive air, fading in and out of consciousness as the ship rocked on the swells. Swimming out to, and sneaking aboard the ship had been a calculated risk that left her dangerously weak.

One hand smoothed across her flat stomach and she smiled with weary contentment. Saving Amber –her ward, her sister, her _friend_- had been well worth the risk. Nothing would take this precious life away from her, she vowed silently. Not again.

* * *

Words; 101


	13. Choices

#13 Choices

* * *

Exhausted down to her very bones, Kaylee hunkered down and waited for yet _another_ sailor to pass by her hiding place. Her vision blurred periodically, warning her that shed over-extended what little strength she still had left. Rubbing at her thighs to ease the cramps, she leant forward to peer through the crack between the enormous shipping containers.

The docks where alive, bustling with activity as they unloaded the massive container ships that came into port. Her ride, a much-patched and ragged fishing trawler, had already left after depositing their catch. The thought made her grimace; she was covered in flaky fish scales, and the heavy, damp weight of the mackerel stuffed up her shirt was anything but comfortable.

Easing forward, Kaylee cautiously wound her way through the maze of containers. Even close to dropping on her feet, her hearing and sense of smell were more than adequate to detect the clumsy mortals. Black tipped ears flickering about, she timed her jump with the thud of nearby footsteps and scrabbled onto the top of the container. Mincing across the hot metal, she crossed the distance of it quickly. This row where butted up close to a row of warehouses, and if she was cautious she could be in their shadows in a few minutes.

Mopping her forehead with the ratty edge of one of the blankets shed stolen, the youkai eyed off the heavy chain link fence that was all that stood between her and freedom. Shaking out her shoulders, she wrapped and tied the spare blankets shed stolen around her waist, so that theyd leave her hands free. Mustering her strength, she took a running leap from the end of the container and hit the fence hard.

Feeling her teeth rattle in her skull, she dug her toes between iron links, climbing upwards quickly. A few swipes of her claws left her feeling woozy, but with a clear patch of fence to climb over. Cautiously easing herself over the severed wire, she coiled herself up and launched into open space. Tumbling out of the flip, Kaylee landed on all fours and quickly straightened, feeling the slimy fish rub up against her belly and chest.

Yawning heavily, she stumbled down into an alley between the massive warehouses, looking for somewhere to curl up. Looking at the mournful state of her tails, she sighed and contemplated her choices. It would be easy enough to break into a warehouse, but that would leave telling traces. Eventually the youkai decided on a wobbly stack of broken crates. Worming her way into their heart, she tugged and pulled them back into place from her cramped little nest.

Padding the splintery crates with the blankets that shed stolen, Kaylee curled herself up, slimy fish and all. Shivering a little, she wrapped her tails over her legs and finally let herself drop into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

Words; 480


End file.
